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Copyright, 1881, by John W. Masury & Son. 



SOMETHING 



PAINTING AND VARNISHING, 



By JOHN W. MASURY. 



CHAPTER I. 

HOW TO PAINT A CARRIAGE. 

There are many ways of proceeding to the same objective 
point, and doctors even will disagree as to the proper mode of 
treating the same symptoms. Coach painters can hardly be 
supposed to be more unanimous than professors of the healing 
art, particularly when the latter named fraternity are leagued by 
all sorts of oaths and bonds not to affiliate or hold consultation 
with a school of medicine which proposes to kill or cure by 
some irregular method. 

No doubt some will see a better road than we propose to 
travel to reach the same point, which is a well painted job of 
carriage painting in every respect. 



The writer does not belong with that class which takes for 
granted that a thing is good because it is new ; nor with those 
who cling to a time honored custom, simply for the reason that 
the same is sanctioned by long use ; nor with those who believe 
that any particular theory or mode of procedure includes all 
that is good and avoids all which is bad. 

The prejudices of craftsmen are difficult to meet and hard to 
overcome. One clings to a system and dogmatically pronounces 
it best, simply because he has never tried any other and he hates 
innovation. Another readily adopts or tries all suggested im- 
provements,, and becomes an innovator because of the charms 
and excitements of novelty. As a rule, the first will win in the 
race — but the second is useful in his day and generation. 

Without attempting to trace the progress of improvement in 
vehicular construction, from the rude log-wheel carts of the 
ancients to the graceful and elegant vehicles of the present day, 
it may be asserted, without fear of contradiction, that there are 
few things in our advanced civilization and refinement which 
are more attractive, which combine more fully the useful and 
the beautiful, than the gracefully modelled, luxurious and com- 
fortable carriages which are turned out from the first-class city 
and country manufactories. 

To paint a carriage in the highest style of the art requires 
a judgment matured, an eye to appreciate combinations and 
contrasts, and a hand, cunning and skilful, to execute and per- 
form. In nothing more than this is it true that practice alone 
makes perfect. Written rules and directions are valuable only 
as hints and suggestions, which, if properly heeded and carried 
into practice, may lead to the correction of errors which exist. 



because of the want of proper instructions. As well might one 
expect to educate the ear to harmonious combinations of sounds 
by a treatise on musical composition, as to teach the art of 
painting by mere words. Yet, while the finished workman needs 
no written rules, there are many throughout our country, living 
remote from the great centres of population, who profess and 
practice the art of carriage painting without the opportunity of 
perfecting themselves in the higher branches of the profession. 
In the hope that to such our directions may prove of practical 
benefit, we give the mode of proceeding in the old method of 
carriage painting. Of the new and shorter method, we shall 
treat hereafter. 



CHAPTER II. 

PREPARATION OF THE SURFACE. 

As the priming, or first coating of the new wood, initiates the 
operation, that simple process requires a word or two at the 
start. First, as to what shall be the material used ; and second, 
how to apply it. And these are important questions, as the 
durability of the job depends in no small degree on the sound- 
ness of the initiatory proceedings. It will not be denied that 



whatever material adheres most tenaciously to the wood, which 
best resists the changes of temperature, dryness and dampness, 
and wear and tear, is the best, whether it be white lead and raw 
oil, boiled oil, or japan, or wood filling, or any other substance. 

THE OLD WAY OF DOING IT. 

To mix the priming coat, thin a small quantity of ground 
white lead with raw linseed oil, adding a few (say two or three) 
spoonfuls of japan for a drier, and enough turpentine to make 
the paint work easily. Apply an even coat of this paint with an 
ordinary bristle paint brush, taking care to work the color well 
into the nail heads, crevices and corners of the body, wheels and 
carriage part. After the body has stood for four days for dry- 
ing, the carriage part being meanwhile in the blacksmith's shop 
undergoing the process of ironing, mix color for second coat as 
follows : Dry white lead, mixed stift' in japan and raw oil, equal 
parts, and ground through the mill. Thin to proper consist- 
ency with turpentine, and apply with an evenly worn brush, tak- 
ing care to work the color down smoothly. This coat should 
stand four days for drying and hardening. After this, fill all the 
holes, crevices, chinks and imperfections in the wood with hard 
putty, made thus : White lead three parts, whiting one part ; wet 
with a mixture of two parts linseed oil, two parts varnish, and 
one part japan or gold size. When filling the screw heads and 
other hollows, allow the putty to stand a little above the sur- 
rounding parts ; that is, the holes should be more than full to 
allow for any possible shrinking. All open-grained wood, as 
ash, must be filled with soft putty, made of white lead wet with 



equal parts varnish and japan, using a square pointed putty 
knife. Care must be taken to fill all the pores of the wood and 
thoroughly remove all superfluous material from the surface. 
Let the body stand three days ; at the end of which apply the 
second lead coat, mixed, dry lead in three parts japan and one 
part oil ; mix stiff, reduce with turpentine, and apply as before. 
Observe that care should be taken to spread every coat evenly, 
whether it be lead, roughstuff, or color. This should stand 
three days before the application of the third and last lead coat, 
which should be mixed dry lead, wet with four parts japan and 
one part oil. After two days (four is better, if not pressed for 
time), the body is ready for roughstuff. We can suggest no 
better mode of mixing roughstuff than the following, viz. : Two 
parts T^nglish filling, two parts dry white lead, wet with mixture 
of two parts varnish and one part each japan, oil and gold size. 
Make into stiff paste, and reduce with turpentine to proper con- 
sistency for spreading with a well worn brush. This should be 
allowed two days for hardening before the application of the 
second coat, which should be mixed in one half the quantity of 
oil used in the first coat. The following day the third coat, in 
which no oil should be used, may be applied, and again the next 
day the fourth coat, which should be mixed the same as the 
third coat, that is, without oil. The roughstuff should, of 
course, be ground finely through the mill, as should all the other 
mixtures into which dry lead enters as one of the component 
parts. The last coat of roughstuff should be followed by the 
guide coat of French yellow ochre, mixed in japan and turpen- 
tine. 

The body may now go to the smith's to be hung up. That 



done, the wood worker should smooth up all places where the 
beds may project over the axles, put on bands, etc. The paint- 
ing process should now be resumed by priming the iron work, 
which should stand two or three days to dry. While the car- 
riage is hardening, the scouring of the body may be proceeded 
with. This should be done by an experienced hand, as great 
care is required to prevent the pumice stone from cutting 
through the successive coats of paint to the wood. The lump 
of pumice stone should be kept well filed, and plenty of water 
should be used to prevent the pores of the stone from becoming 
clogged with the paint. This process should be continued until 
none of the guide coat is left, and, being completed, the body 
should be washed off with clean, cold water, using the water 
tool for corners and for all places where the particles removed 
from the surface by the action of the pumice stone are apt to 
collect. The body may now be left to dry for twenty-four 
hours, and work resumed on the carriage parts. First, cut down 
thoroughly every part with No. 2 sand paper, dust off and apply 
lead coat mixed as follows, and ground finely through the mill : 
Dry white lead, in equal parts of japan and raw oil, reduced 
with turpentine. Judgment is required in the application of 
this coat, because, if the paint be too thin, the pores of the wood 
will remain unfilled, and if too thick, it cannot be spread evenly ; 
apply with bristle paint brush, working the paint well into the 
wood. 

This coat should stand at least four days for hardening ; but 
in the meantime it would be well to soft putty the rims, faces of 
spokes, and all the flat surfaces of the carriage part. Putty for 
this work should be made of dry white lead, wet with equal 



parts of oil, japan and varnish, using a square bladed putty- 
knife. Work the filling well into the grain of the wood, taking 
care not to allow any to remain on the surface, because any 
loose particles not removed will crumble and fall away after 
the carriage has been for a time in use. 

Returning again to the body part, work is resumed on that by 
going lightly over the whole surface with the very finest sand 
paper used for such work. Particular pains must be taken to 
clean out all the corners ; and, should any imperfection be dis- 
covered, any holes or crevices remain unfilled, the same must be 
stopped with quick putty, and the body will be ready for color. 

It is proposed to dispense with the old, and, it seems to us, 
unnecessary custom of going over the work again with what is 
called the surface lead coat. 

It will now be understood that the successive coats of paint, 
with the labor of rubbing and smoothing, have brought the sur- 
face to the best possible condition for receiving the first coat of 
color. This surface, which has been gained by the expenditure 
of so much time and labor, it should be the constant effort of 
the workman to preserve, because for a scratch or indentation 
on the same there is no remedy but to go half way back and 
begin again. 

It is proposed to finish this job in black, that being the most 
common, as well as the most important, of all the colors used in 
the carriage shop. It does not take long to learn that black 
(which is the carbon resulting from the burning of animal bones 
in close vessels) is serviceable and valuable just in proportion to 
the minuteness of the division of the particles. Black, not finely 
ground, has little body and comparatively little adhesive prop- 



erty. The ordinary appliances and means for grinding colors 
in the paint shop are not equal to the task of grinding black 
to that degree of fineness which is essential to produce the 
best effects in finished black work. 

Nor has there been, either in this country or abroad, until a 
recent invention, any machinery whereby hard pigments like 
black and some of the lakes could be reduced to that impal- 
pable fineness, on which their value and good working qualities 
mainly depend, without adding so much to the cost as to put 
them beyond the use of coach painters entirely. Asking pardon 
for this digression, and taking for granted that you have on 
hand a stock of ground superfine colors for coach painters' use, 
and that the body which was left ready for color is to be fin- 
ished in the best style, the next proceeding is to open a one 
pound can of ivory "jet" black, which will be done in a second 
with the help of a penknife blade. Black ground by means of 
this improved machinery will be found finer than a few years 
since it was thought possible to reduce any substance, and so 
soft and manageable that it incorporates at once with the thin- 
ning, and the mixture becomes as homogeneous as though it were 
all one substance. Enough of this black to go over the work is 
taken from the can and thinned with turpentine, using a trifle of 
raw linseed oil if you have time. Put on with flat camel hair 
brush, which leaves no brush marks. This coat had best stand 
one day before the second coat of black is applied. That done, 
work is ready for first coat of varnish. 



CHAPTER III. 

VARNISHING. 

This is a most important point in the process of our work. 
So far, all has been done with reference to durability, as well as 
beauty ; and as a coat of bad varnish will nullify all that has 
been done in that way, it behooves us to be not a little particu- 
lar about the matter. It is not for us to say who makes the best 
rubbing varnish, but we have no hesitation in saying what, in 
our opinion, a rubbing varnish sJwuld be to fulfil all the require- 
ments of the occasion. It must flow smoothly ; it must dry 
hard, and yet elastic ; it must rub well, clean down well, and not 
sweat. If you can find a varnish fulfilling all these necessary 
conditions, no matter what name it may bear, apply a coat of it 
to the work in hand — not a heavy coat, but a light one — with a 
flat brush, of which there are several kinds intended specially 
for varnish. A thick, flat badger hair varnish brush, of chisel 
form, about three or three and a half inches wide, is recom- 
mended for such work as is now the subject of treatment. Such 
a brush, if well cared for, will last a lifetime and grow better 
with age. But let us return to the body, which was left with one 
coat of rubbing varnish, and which must now be put aside to dry 
for three days. During this time work may be resumed on the 
carriage ; first, by going over it again with sand paper ; and now 
care must be exercised not to rub the sharp angles through 



to the wood. After this, dust off and apply second lead coat, 
mixed as follows : Dry white lead wet with a mixture of japan 
and oil, in the proportion of three parts of the former to one of 
the latter, and made stiff ; reduce with turpentine and apply as 
before, observing same directions as to grinding, reducing, etc. 
After three days another slight sand papering, and the last lead 
coat may be applied. In this last coat no oil need be used, but 
clear japan, and the paint should be applied as before. This 
being the last lead coat, we, of course, depend upon it for the 
smooth, perfect surface required for the reception of the color, 
which, with striping and varnishing, is to complete the job. For 
cutting down this coat use No. i sand paper, and be very careful 
to smooth out every corner and bead, and around every bolt 
head, nut, etc., and remember that the bases of the spokes 
require attention equally with the centres, as also do the hubs 
and rims. This operation, simple as it may seem, is no " child's 
play," and must not be intrusted to a careless hand, as the 
same amount of rubbing applied to the sharp corners as to the 
flat and rounded surfaces, will remove all the successive coats 
down to the wood ; and, as these parts receive most of the wear 
and tear of actual use, it follows that these, of all, require to be 
best protected with the paint. The smoothing being properly 
performed, and the loose particles removed from every part, nook 
and corner^ the work is ready for first coat of color. That 
portion of the ground black remaining in the can after the 
painting of the body will be found — supposing it to have 
been kept well covered with turpentine — as soft and pliable as 
when first opened. Mix a proper quantity of this with tur- 
pentine, using oil if desired, and apply with flat camel hair 



brush. Ten hours will be sufficient to dry this coat, when the 
second will follow, mixed the same as the first coat. If the 
work is to be finished with a very wide stripe, put this on before 
the first coat of varnish. The carriage parts being ready for 
first coat of varnish, apply rubbing varnish, which should be as 
good in every respect as that used on the body and as carefully 
put on. Leaving this to harden, return to the body, which was 
left with one coat of varnish, and it will be found hard enough 
for first rubbing. Provided with a piece of cloth or felt and 
finely pulverized pumice stone, a water tool, and plenty of clean, 
cold water, proceed to cut down the varnish as closely as pos- 
sible, being careful not to go through to the color and not to 
allow the pumice stone to dry on the varnish ; use the water 
tool freely in all the corners and around the mouldings. This 
operation will be repeated through three successive coats of var- 
nish, and the body is ready for the trimming shop. The car- 
riage part must now be subjected to the same rubbing process 
as has been applied to the body. This work must not be 
trusted to unskilful hands. An expert only can do it to per- 
fection. If performed by inexperienced hands, the result will 
be an untimely striping of all the sharp angles, and the prospect 
of a well finished job materially impaired. Supposing this del- 
icate operation to be successfully performed, the striping is next 
in order. On this subject there is not much to be said. If 
any one supposes he can do this because he has been told 
"how to do it," a single attempt will be all sufficient to cure him 
of his vain delusion ! There is no royal road to this accom- 
plishment ; its attainment is through the steep path of long-con- 
tinued practice. The striping done and dry, a thorough wash- 



ing must follow, and be sure that every particle of dust you 
leave upon the work will be found by the varnish brush, and 
carelessness in this respect has too often called down maledic- 
tions upon the head of the innocent varnish maker. The car- 
riage parts removed to the varnish room are ready for finishing 
coat, and the writer confesses himself at a loss how to give any 
hints even which shall prove of value as to the successful per- 
formance of this, of all, the most important in the whole pro- 
ceeding. A knowledge, not only of the nature of varnish gener- 
ally, but of the particular varnish to be used in the operation, 
is indispensable to success. To become an adept in this art 
requires long experience, confidence and self possession ; and, 
we may add, a good conscience. A mistake in this is little less 
than a crime ! And your shortcoming will not only rise in 
judgment against you, but will be known and read of all men. 

The body received from the trimming shop is ready for rub- 
bing, preparatory to the finishing coat of varnish. This, too, is 
a delicate piece of work and requ-ires judgment, skill and prac- 
tice. Remember that a mote on a panel becomes a beam in the 
eye of the beholder, and the smallest speck looms up like a dis- 
tant hill in a misty atmosphere. Having completed it (for bet- 
ter or worse), close the door reverently behind you, lock it, call 
on your good angel to protect your work from harm, and await 
the result. 

If not pressed for time, it will be well to allow the body to 
stand over one night before finishing. Remove it to the finish- 
ing room, which was put in order the previous evening ; wash it 
off thoroughly with cold, clean water, using a clean sponge and 
a chamois skin which has been well broken in. Do not use 



13 

dusters which have been used on lead or color, or the mouldings 
will be discolored. After dusting off well, take a dry flat fitch 
brush and wet the ends of the hair with a small quantity of var- 
nish. Let this stand for half an hour, and then go carefully and 
lightly over the whole surface. This will pick up every remain- 
ing particle of lint and dust, and there remains only to apply 
the varnish. This should be done as you should say your pray- 
ers — without the presence of any third party ; and, being done, 
retire without ostentation, locking the door behind you, and 
keeping it locked until the surface is no longer liable to injury 
from dust. 

The next thing in order is to care for the tools. The brush 
used for picking up the lint should be first softened with a little 
oil, and then thoroughly washed with soap and water, and care- 
fully put away for future use. Remember that good work de- 
pends in a great measure on the strictest attention to cleanliness, 
and a sloven cannot, in the nature of things, produce a perfect 
job in carriage painting. ''''Neatness, order and economy''' should 
be the motto in every paint shop. 

The work which has been under way for a period of about 
five weeks may now be considered as finished. It may stand a 
few days to harden and then be hung up. The bolts, etc., hav- 
ing been blacked off and dry, the completed carriage should 
receive the first of repeated washings which it is destined to 
undergo ; but this clean, cold water washing should be done by 
an experienced hand ; otherwise it is better left undone. If 
properly performed, it will tend to harden the varnish and will 
rather improve the general appearance. The finished vehicle 
may now be turned out for service, and there need be little 



14 

apprehension that the painting will not prove a durable and 
creditable job. It might have been completed in much less 
time and have presented to the eye quite as good an appear- 
ance. A great many carriages are so finished, and they may, 
and do no doubt, stand the ordinary wear and tear of country 
roads pretty well ; but for use on city pavements time is an 
indispensable element, and it would not be safe to finish work 
for city wear in less time than we have given to the job in 
hand, unless some other and shorter method be adopted. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE NEW METHOD. 



For the last ten years ways and means have been devised, and 
every effort made to shorten the process of carriage painting — 
to expedite the work and turn it out in less time. The pace 
has not been fast enough for the "times," and quicker, shorter 
ways of arriving at the same result have been sought for, if not 
discovered. Keeping in mind the grand, pervading principle of 
compensation, we are not of those who believe the time hereto- 
fore deemed necessary to produce a first class job of coach paint- 
ing can be materially shortened, at the same time retaining all 



15 

the good features and results of the slow process. That is to 
say, the chances are altogether in favor of durability, when oil 
enough has been used in the painting to insure elasticity, and 
prevent the material from drying to that flinty hardness which 
cannot be supposed to bear the shaking and concussions which 
all wheeled vehicles on city pavements are necessarily subjected 
to, without cracking, and, perhaps, chipping off. In short, the 
mode of painting carriages, such as we have described in the 
foregoing pages of this book, involves the expenditure of a cer- 
tain number of days, which cannot be materially curtailed, with- 
out incurring the risk of what has been too common of late, 
viz. : jobs which soon perish with the using. If haste be a sine 
qua /ion with the painter ; if the work must be completed in half 
the time heretofore deemed essential in the production of en- 
during carriage painting, it is suggested that some other mode 
be adopted. If we will have railroad speed, we must abandon 
the stage coach system ! 

In writing about our " new way," we propose simply to give 
the results of our own experience. To give the facts as we find 
them is what we propose, leaving every man to his own judg- 
ment as to which course he will adopt or pursue. 

Some time has elapsed since we inaugurated our experiments 
and practice looking to the compounding of such a mixture as 
would permit of shortening the time without impairing the 
durability. 

We have long been of the opinion that coach painting could 
be reduced to a more perfect system, resulting in the end, in 
more durable work at a less cost. All of our experiments 
have, therefore, tended toward bringing about such a result, as 



i6 



remarked in the first chapter of this treatise. The " priming " 
being all important, we have concentrated all our efforts in the 
direction of producing such a substance as shall close the pores 
of the wood against the absorption of all after coats, as well as 
dampness. In a word, we intend this substance to cement the 
surface of the wood. If our experiments show anything, they 
show us that we have brought into existence a "priming" for 
first coats upon new wood and iron, which comes nearer to pos- 
sessing the above desirable qualities than any article ever used 
for coach painting. 

The results of our experiments in the use of this new priming 
are given below : 

1. The effectual closing of the pores of the wood so as to pre- 
vent the possibility of dampness going through the priming. 

2. Absolute certainty that oil used in after coats will not be 
absorbed by the wood ; and, as a consequence, the effectual pre- 
vention of the showing of the grain after the work in hand shall 
have been finished. 

3. Drying to a hardness which insures a solid foundation, and 
which, having cemented itself into the grain of the wood, cannot 
be made to chip or flake off. 

To give the reader a clearer idea of what we mean by cement- 
ing the surface of wood, we make the following illustration : 

It is well known that a coat of lead in linseed oil, applied to a 
sheet of tin, will not, after it has become dry and hard, lose its 
elasticity, and simply for the reason that the tin does not absorb 
the oil. 

The same mixture, applied to wood, will become, in the proc- 
ess of drying and hardening, lifeless and brittle, because of the 



17 

fact that the ever hungry wood will absorb or drink up the oil 
and leave the pigment dry. To close the surface against such 
absorption is what our new priming is intended to do ; and if 
we accomplish this, all "after coats" must necessarily retain 
their elasticity, and, once hard, grain showing is effectually pre- 
vented, which, in our opinion, has always been caused by the 
porous wood taking in a large proportion of the oils with which 
primings are compounded, leaving the pigment dry and non- 
elastic. In considering this matter, we have not lost sight of the 
fact, that any of the wood fillers now in use, which possess the 
nature of never becoming hard, but forever retaining their stick- 
iness, are in every sense as bad as the substance from which the 
wood will absorb all elasticity, because, such a coat being soft 
when succeeding coats are applied, there is a gradual giving 
away of the whole foundation, thus affecting the finishing coat 
of varnish, causing a broken surface. 

It is not to be supposed that any new claimant for public 
favor can find it all at once. Many pertinaciously cling to what 
has been tried and not found wanting. The bridge is good 
which carries safely ! 

But to the modus operandi. Our priming should be pro- 
ceeded with as in the use of lead. It must be put on evenly 
and well brushed into the grain of the wood, and under no cir- 
cumstances must the beads and corners be left full of the mate- 
rial. 

A short, well worn brush is best for applying it, and the 
work should stand two days before the application of the first 
coat of our roughstuff. Putty on this coat of roughstuff after 
two days (summer heat), and give the putty two days to harden 



before applying second coat, and then apply a coat per day until 
the. job is filled. 

Apply the guide coat, and rub down and finish as in the old 
way. The carriage part, coming from the smith's, should be 
trimmed up, bands put on, etc., and thoroughly sand papered, 
cutting close down to the wood. Dust off carefully, and apply 
coat of priming to every part, iron work included. Brush the 
priming well into the grain, taking care not to use too much. A 
thin coat is best. Next day putty rims, faces of spokes, and all 
flat places evenly with soft putty made elastic. The usual 
mode of proceeding is to smooth down next day for color ; but 
our practice has been to apply with a flat camel hair brush a 
coat of our " carriage part filling." Reduced with turpentine to 
the consistency of color, previous to sand papering, this will 
insure a more perfect surface. By adopting this mode of pro- 
ceeding, the sand paper will not be apt to clog and tear up the 
" priming," and, if proper care be exhibited in rubbing down, 
the carriage part filling will come off, and there will remain a 
good surface without injury to the foundation. Sand paper the 
next day, dust off, and apply first coat of color made more elas- 
tic with oil, and varnish than for coloring over lead paint. 

From this point all subsequent proceedings up to the finish 
will be the same as the old method. 

Such has been our mode of proceeding in the use of our 
"new priming." There may be better and shorter methods, but 
the results of our experiments have been satisfactory. 

Disclaiming any intention of dictating a rule of action for the 
conduct of others, we suggest a trial of the mode above de- 
scribed to those who have not given the matter any attention or 



19 

trial. Every painter is supposed to have his own peculiar ways 
and notions as to how painting should be done. With these we 
have no desire or intention of interfering. The trade of coach 
painting is not to be classed with mere mechanic routine. It 
rises out of mechanical drudgery into the domain of art. The 
ability to perform such work in all its possible completeness and 
perfection is an accomplishment of which any man may be 
justly proud. It does not seem that any labor saving machinery 
can be brought to bear upon it in such a way as to lessen the 
necessity for cunning and skill, for education and taste. 

Referring again briefly to the new mode of carriage painting, 
we would remark, that the question of time, durability and cost 
being all involved in it, the subject is entitled to a careful inves- 
tigation. 

Having concluded this somewhat lengthened description of 
the two modes of procedure in modern coach painting, we pro- 
pose to record some of the reasons why coach painters should 
adopt the use of ground colors, rather than depend upon the 
usual facilities of the paint shop for producing them. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE USE OF READY GROUND COLORS. 

The extreme adulteration of paints, which has of late years 
become so great an evil as to work out its own cure, has not 



wholly grown out of a disposition on the part of the manufac- 
turer to secure immoderate profits. The consumer has been 
most to blame, because of the ready credence he has given to 
the promises of needy and unscrupulous sellers, who have prom- 
ised to give him more for his money than it is worth. It would 
seem almost beyond belief that a coach painter would risk spoil- 
ing a job in the hope of saving a half dollar on a gallon of var- 
nish. Would such a case be a novelty ? The adulteration of 
paints is so difficult of detection as to make the practice easy 
and comparatively safe. Take, for example, the article of car- 
mine. In a color so expensive as this, a small percentage of 
adulteration makes a material reduction in the cost. A single 
ounce in a pound of this expensive color, would afford a larger 
profit to the seller than is usually realized by those who sell it 
pure at first hands. Nor could this be detected in using by 
the most skilful and practised painter. The cheat would be 
revealed only by the untimely fading of the color, and that 
would be too late to remedy the evil. In carriage painting, im- 
mediate effects are less important than remote consequences. 

The colors referred to are prepared expressly for use in car- 
riage work, and with reference only to the requirements of the 
trade. They are finer than it is possible to make them in the 
paint shop, for the reason that a specialty is made of this busi- 
ness with means and appliances which do not exist in the paint 
shop. To illustrate the convenience of these colors, suppose a 
case. Two or three new spokes in an old wheel are to be 
painted. The time necessary to prepare the paint from dry 
materials would be more than sufficient to match, paint, stripe 
and varnish with colors ready at hand. Or, suppose an old car- 



riage to be revarnished. The color is mixed to match on the 
stone, and after, run through the mill. In the grinding process 
the color has changed, and is no longer a match. This may not 
be discovered until the application of varnish ; perhaps not even 
until the job is completed and placed in a stronger light. The 
result is general dissatisfaction ; but, suppose it to have been 
discovered in the process of grinding, the change involves an 
addition of various colors ; one after another is added, and with 
loss of much time, to say nothing of loss of patience, the result 
is a quantity of paint sufficient to paint two carriage parts, 
which, of course, is almost worthless for other work, and finds 
its way into the waste or slush tub, as it is not very elegantly 
termed in the paint shop. Had ground colors been on hand, 
the match could have been made in one quarter the time and 
with one quarter the stock, and the saving would have been 
both in time and material, and the danger avoided of mismatch- 
ing the color in the process of grinding. 

It may be said that a thoroughgoing, practical painter does 
not make such mistakes ; but such work is not always done by 
that style of workmen. It is often intrusted to boys and other 
persons of immature judgments ; and, in spite of all that may be 
said, such mistakes do happen in the best regulated shops. 
Suppose another case : A new body is ready for color — an or- 
dered job — promised on a certain day. Time is limited, and a 
mistake now is little less than a crime. The paint shop is short 
of hands ! The foreman, driven with other work, finds just time 
to mix the black on the stone — after the same has been pow- 
dered by the boy — put into the mill, turn the screw, and give 
pressure enough to insure moderately fine color. The day is a 



hot one. The crank turns slowly under the perspiring juvenile, 
who, like Mantilini, feels his life to be "one demnition grind." 
Tired and disgusted — not appreciating the importance of 'fine 
colors — he gives the thumbscrew a half turn, and, presto ! the 
crank goes to a lively tune, the color comes out in no stinted 
quantity, and soon the task is at an end. Leaving the mill, 
which he neglects to clean, and the pot of half ground color, 
and feeling himself entitled to a half hour's recreation in reward 
for his industry and perseverance, he disappears, and the fore- 
man comes from the varnish room with just enough of daylight 
left to color the body. The application of a single brushful of 
the paint informs him that in fineness it is equal to No. 2 sand 
paper ; but there is no time to grind a fresh lot, and the cup of 
thin color could not be made fine in a week. So the boy, being 
found, is presented with a coat of — well, not blessings ! The 
body, unpainted, stands till next day ; or, being smalted, the 
surface requires an extra coat of rubbing varnish to present a 
respectable appearance. Do not such accidents frequently oc- 
cur in the paint shop ? Ground colors offer a remedy, sure, 
safe and economical, for all these complaints ! Try them and 
be convinced. 

Our Mr. Wolcott says : " These colors should come into gen- 
eral use, not only because they are finer than any other colors, 
but because they work more freely, flat more perfectly, and dry 
more readily than any others. After conversing with more 
than five hundred painters as to the cost of grinding colors in 
the shop — the extremes in the estimates given being thirty cents 
as the minimum and one dollar as the maximum average cost 
for labor alone, and a waste of from ten to fifteen per cent., we 



23 



think we may aver, that prepared colors, on the score of econ- 
omy alone — to say nothing of all the other advantages — are 
worthy the attention of all who buy and use paint. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE "pitting" of VARNISH. 

There is somewhere a proverb which runneth thus, or words 
to like effect : " To cease to justify one's deeds unto one's self 
is the last infirmity of evil." Coach painters, as a rule, are very 
wise, very learned, and have reasons to account for all ordinary 
and extraordinary phenomena, as " plenty as blackberries ; " 
but we ask, in all sincerity, did anybody ever hear one — or see 
anybody who ever did hear one — account for a spoiled job, by 
charging it to his own carelessness or neglect ? Not that mem- 
bers of this craft are singular in this respect ! All men are dis- 
posed to "justify themselves;" or, in other words, no man will 
load his own shoulders with blame, if he can, with any show of 
reason, shift it so that another back shall bear the burden. A 
dozen painters will, at a word, give a reason for the pitting of 
varnish. But as no two will perhaps agree, each of the state- 
ments must be taken with a liberal allowance of salt. A case in 



24 

point : a foreman in a first-class city shop was using ground 
colors. A hundred jobs had been turned out painted with 
these colors, which were in every respect satisfactory. One day 
the first coat of varnish did not flow smoothly. The cause ? 
Oh ! those ground colors, of course ! Don't use any more ! 
Now, gentle reader, this thing had occurred in that shop many, 
many times before, but then there were no ground colors to 
make a scape goat of. "To cease to justify one's deeds unto 
one's self is the last infirmity of evil." 

A story told many years ago, in the K nickej-bocker Magazine, 
may not be out of place here. It was of an old, ugly, ill-tem- 
pered, cross-grained country village loafer, who was always do- 
ing some ill-natured thing. It came to the ears of a fond pater- 
familias that a pet lamb, the object of his pet children's affec- 
tions, had been kicked by this aforesaid ugly customer ; and, 
full of indignation, the aggrieved father sought out the offender, 
and demanded why and wherefore this assault had been made 
on the unoffending " pet." Ready with a reason, the old cur- 
mudgeon replied in this wise : " I'll tell you why I did it ! 
That hiDib tried to bite vie, and I '11 kiek any eiissed iamb tliat tries 
to bite nie f " To cease," etc. ; but we will not repeat the text 
again. Now, in making the application of this little story, we 
expect ground colors to be made the scape goat of many sins. 
If varnish, previous to the introduction of ground colors, had 
not been known to have presented a " pitted " surface, it would 
be fair to ascribe to said colors the unfortunate result ; but, as 
this thing has been known as long. as varnish has been used, it 
would be reasonable, at least, to look elsewhere for the cause. 
Will those who are so ready to find a place whereon to rest the 



25 



blame of a spoiled job bear in mind the fact that these colors 
are prepared under the immediate supervision of an intelligent 
man, who has had an experience of more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury in the paint shop ? It is well to be wise, but not good to be 
wise in one's own conceit ! There are to-day hundreds of painters 
throughout the country using ground colors. In one or two sol- 
itary instances a complaint comes that the varnish " pits " over 
black. Now, as this does not happen in the ninety and nine 
cases, but in the one hundredth, we claim that it is only fair to 
look for some other cause before condemning the color. It 
must be kept in mind that coach painting is an art, and that 
something more is required to perform it satisfactorily than just 
enough of knowledge to mix a cup of color and apply it. Good 
judgment, sound discretion, close observation, no less than a 
cunning hand, are the sine qua non of success. Every painter, 
whose vision is not limited by the end of his nose, is aware that 
varnish is apt to "pit" on a japan gloss, especially if the color 
be not quite hard. The ground colors are mixed and ground 
with a purpose to avoid the use of japan in thinning for applica- 
tion. Turpentine for thinning, with a little (a drop or two) of 
oil, if you please, is all that is required. 



26 



CHAPTER VII. 

NEW THINGS. 

The introduction of a new article — or an old one in a new 
form — is, under the most favorable circumstances, attended with 
many difficulties. Not only are there prejudices even of the 
skilful and honest workman to contend with, but the besotted 
prejudices of the ignorant and stubborn ; as, also, the " tricks of 
the trade," which unscrupulous salesmen know too well how to 
use to give a bad name to goods with which they cannot success- 
fully compete in honest and fair competition, to say nothing of 
" the ways that are dark " among the very men of all others who 
would be supposed to encourage any improvement which would 
seem to lessen the drudgery of their daily occupations. Illustra- 
tive of the last named difficulty, let us give a case in point. The 
foreman of one of our city shops, after using ground colors for 
months with entire satisfaction and written commendation, all 
at once discovered that he could not use them more, because 
the varnish " pitted " over the black, which, certainly, were 
"pity, if 'twere true." Thinking to overcome the difficulty, not 
at first seeing the " cullered pusson in the fence," we called 
upon the disaffected one, and proposed to try the black then 
and there, and wait the drying, and see with our own eyes this 
most wonderful phenomenon. Curious to relate, there was noth- 
ing just then which could, by any possibility, be used to make 



27 

the test. Mirabile dictu ! not a gig lamp even ! Not a spoke, 
old or new, which would bear a coat of black ; and the innocent 
could not even hazard a guess as to when there would probably 
be any work ready for a coat of black. As a last resort, we 
begged a small vial full of this varnish which behaved in such a 
pitiful manner, only when covering a coat of superfine ivory jet 
black. Thankful for this, we went home and proceeded to coat, 
with some of the identical color, four spokes, which were fin- 
ished in black and varnished more than a year before. This 
was completed just at nightfall, and the next morning we ap- 
plied to spoke number one, which presented a surface smooth as 
enamel, a coat of the aforesaid varnish. To spoke number two 
we applied a coat of the same varnish, mixed with two other var- 
nishes, one of which was a hard polishing and the other a very 
elastic varnish ! With number four we made another most 
severe test. In every case the result was a surface as smooth — 
aye, smoother than the ,most highly polished plate glass. " Was 
it not pitiful ?" 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST JOB IN BLACK. 

A PURE black is, in theory, the absence of all the primary 
colors and of the extreme color, white. The presence of any 



28 

one of these detracts from the entireness of black. So, when 
black is viewed through any colored medium, it ceases to be 
pure black, and assumes that tone of color which would result 
from mixing the color of the medium with the black. For ex- 
ample : Black, when viewed through a medium of yellowish 
varnish, reflects, however slightly, a greenish hue ; and the 
greater the number of coats of clear varnish, the greater will 
be the detraction from the purity of the black. So with white. 
A single thin coat of the palest varnish, over a coat of pure 
white, detracts slightly from its purity. But successive coats, 
of the most colorless varnish, destroy the whiteness, and the 
surface reflects more or less of impure yellowish light. The 
same may be said of all the primary and secondary colors. 
Some of the mixed and broken colors would be improved, on 
the contrary, by a coating of yellowish translucent medium, as, 
yellow lake over drab, or over a mixed green. In avoidance 
of these accidents, and in order to secure the best results pos- 
sible in carriage painting, we suggest the application of only one 
coat of clear varnish, and that, of course, the last one. We be- 
lieve the best work turned out of any city establishment is fin- 
ished without a single coat of clear color (we speak now more 
particularly of glazing jobs), and with but one coat of clear var- 
nish. In carmine and the lakes, the first coat on the ground is 
put on in varnish, and every coat up to the last is colored. In 
this way a depth of color is obtained which can be had by no 
other process. It should be borne in mind that the opaque, 
or body colors, do not compare in beauty and brilliancy with 
the transparent colors. And, as a rule, the colors are beautiful 
in proportion as they are transparent. For examples : ultra- 



29 

marine blue, carmine, emerald green, scarlet and crimson lakes, 
etc. All are familiar with the beautiful colors reflected from 
the vases placed in the windows of apothecary shops. This 
results from the depth of colored fluid. A thin, flat glass vessel 
would not reflect such hues, though filled with the same sub- 
stance. The principle is the same in carriage painting. To 
show the best possible colors, the light must be reflected, not 
from a flat, opaque surface, but from a surface which has be- 
neath it a depth of continuous colored particles reaching away 
down through the successive coats of varnish to the ground- 
work. To be sure, this mode of proceeding is expensive, both 
in labor and material, but who ever gained any good thing with- 
out working for it ? Black should be put on one coat of clear 
flat color ; after that, every coat of varnish should contain 
more or less of the same black as used for the first coat, up to 
the finishing coat, which should be clear varnish. In this mode 
the black holds its color, and does not take on the greenish 
tinge, which otherwise it is impossible to avoid. All work, of 
course, is good or bad only by comparison. Any carriage is 
black enough in a dark night, and almost any tolerably good 
black looks well enough when viewed per se. It is only when 
placed in comparison with the best, that its inferiority is appar- 
ent ; and men who strive to excel in their productions are not 
content to occupy inferior positions in any particular. " Ex- 
celsior " is a good motto for coach painters. 



3° 



CHAPTER IX. 

Painting and varnishing are operations which are not gener- 
ally considered in their true respective forms and proper light. 
These operations are in the nature of things akin to that of 
plastering, and should be so looked at if we would find the 
true cause of and remedy for the troubles which the work of 
carriage painting necessarily involves. We allude now to the 
trouble known as chipping, peeling, or cleaving of the varnish 
from the underneath coat or surface of color. Painting differs 
from plastering, mainly in the lesser quantity of material used, 
and in the different modes of a})plication ; the one being done 
with a brush — the other with a trowel ; but it is equally neces- 
sary and important, in either operation, that there shall be a 
surface to which the material may cling and fasten ; or it will 
drop off from the spoke or wall — as the case may be — whenever 
the dislocating force shall be sufficient to overcome the slight 
cohesive power of the particles of paint, or plaster, or varnish. 

If a plasterer should put his first coat of mortar on laths 
which were closely in contact — each particular lath as near to 
its neighbor as the lathing man could stick it — and that plaster 
should, on drying, drop off, what would be thought of the mason 
who should complain that the lime, the sand, and hair were defi- 
cient in adhesive qualities ? Or, suppose the plasterer should 
put a coat of hard finish on a previous coat of the same — tak- 
ing care to grease the first coat well — and should, on the drop- 



31 

ping off of the final coat, cry out against the plaster, and on that 
unoffending material lay all the blame of his own shortcomings ? 

IVe, have complaints quite as unreasonable as these in the 
hypothetical case just mentioned ; and are not unfrequently 
taken to task "for muddying the water down stream." Yet, as 
the complaints last year did not amount to as much as one for 
every fifty thousand carriages painted with our colors, we do not 
propose to take the matter much to heart, and hope to survive, 
notwithstanding. 

The object in this present writing is to set forth, as lucidly as 
may be, the general and particular failings and shortcomings of 
carriage painting as usually, and we may say almost universally, 
practiced. The obstacles in the way of first-class work are not 
few or strange ! All who are in the trade are familiar with 
their several and respective features, and all would gladly be rid 
of them. In naming these shortcomings, we put them in their 
order of importance and frequency, thus — cracking of paint 
and varnish, chipping or flaking of varnish, and premature 
perishing of paint and varnish, when the foregoing named mis- 
haps shall have been avoided. 

Now, there can be no doubt of an existing disposition on the 
part of carriage makers and painters to so examine this ques- 
tion as to arrive at the true cause or causes of these accidents, 
and, if possible, to prevent their recurrence. We are talking of 
no new thing, but of what has occurred often and again, and 
which we fear will recur, in spite of all that we may write to the 
contrary. 

If this monster had a single head, we might kill it at a blow ! 
but, unfortunately, 'tis hydra-headed, and when one head is killed 



32 

another freshly succeeds to its place. So, to account for all 
these mishaps at a word seems simply impossible. A primary 
cause of failure in the painting department of carriage manu- 
facturing may be the partial seasoning of the timber, and con- 
sequent shrinkage and rearrangement of the particles com- 
posing the same. Weather changes during the process of 
painting and varnishing may be potent for evil, and most diffi- 
cult to understand and guard against. Badly ventilated work 
rooms, where no provision is made for needed circulation of 
air ; adulteration of leads, colors, oils, turpentine, varnish and 
driers are fruitful sources of evil ! Want of skill and good 
judgment on the part of the workman cause many calamities. 
Rubbing varnish made to dry in a day plentifully cheapened 
with cowrie" gum and resin ! Japans made from cowrie gum or 
demar, or both ! Mixing of color without regard to proportions 
in the thinning materials ! Introduction of different driers 
without knowledge of what the result of such mixing will be ! 
Lastly, and most prolific source of evil, is the undue haste in the 
completion of the job in hand, with little or no regard to the 
time actually necessary to properly accomplish a first-class piece 
of work. 

We do not propose to have enumerated all the causes of 
failure ; but enough possibly for the present theme ! 



33 



CHAPTER X. 

Next in importance to finding out a cause of evil, is to pro- 
vide or suggest a remedy. We would like to present a remedy 
for every ill, and make the way so plain that any man, though 
a coach-painter, need not err therein. How to do it, and how 
not to do it, are now the questions. Listen to our theory ! As- 
suming the wood to be properly seasoned and ready for paint — 
priming is most important ; because it is absolutely necessary 
that the coating on the wood shall hold its place from first to 
last — through thick and thin — under all vicissitudes and un- 
toward circumstances, giving or yielding not a jot, not a par- 
ticle. With such a foundation good work is possible ; without 
it, not ! What shall it be ? Not something which will dry in 
half a day. As a rule, the longer paint stands without harden- 
ing — supposing the same to be properly compounded — the more 
tenaciously it will cling to the surface on which it may be 
placed. All drying substances tend to lessen the enduring 
qualities of linseed oil and hasten its disintegration and decay. 
Therefore, the more oil in the priming coat the better — suppos- 
ing it shall have ample time to dry ! We treat now of the old 
process of lead priming ; but there is* a proper system and a 
key-note ; and that key-note once struck, all after proceedings 
should be in consonance with its vibration. If the key-note be 
the lightning speed process, let all subsequent proceedings be 
in harmony therewith. Better so, than introduce an elastic 



34 

stratum somewhere in the layers. A coat of quick drying color 
put on a foundation which is. soft all the way up, will, in the 
nature of things, crack all over. This is an every day ex- 
perience, and the disappointed workman — wanting a better 
theory — lays the blame upon the color. Hasty and ill-con- 
sidered condemnation shows want of balance ! Before laying 
the blame on the color and condemning // — the painter should 
assure himself that there exists no other possible cause for the 
disaster. A coat of the same color, applied to an old spoke or 
to a strip of glass, would probably exhibit an entirely different 
state of things. However, we can hardly expect such gen- 
erous treatment always, and must, we suppose, continue to 
muddy the water, standing all the while, as we do, down stream. 
'Tis said, "to cease to justify one's deeds unto one's self is the 
last infirmity of evil." 

But to return. Suppose the work to have received an honest 
coat of priming, and the workman compelled to rush that work 
along, without giving the first coat a fair time and chance to 
harden properly ! Making the best of the conditions and 
requirements, the painter (who is, we suppose, a man of long 
experience and sound judgment) puts on another coat of lead 
properly mixed (and in consonance with the theory of follow- 
ing the key-note), keeping this, as all succeeding coats, suffi- 
ciently elastic to prevent cracking, yet knowing all the time that 
none of the coats are hard, but that the mass is soft all the way 
through. Now in finishing over this foundation, he will — being 
as aforesaid, a man of sound discretion — use an elastic varnish, 
and so, do the best that can be done under such circumstances. 
The work being finished, and run out, and put to the test of 



35 

actual wear and tear, will show — what result ? It may not crack 
nor chip, but nothing is more certain than the fact that — like the 
seed sown on stony ground^it will perish, alas ! all too soon. 
The fact must not be lost sight of, but kept ever before the eye 
and the mind, that in carriage painting — as in almost every 
other process in art and science — time is an element which can- 
not be disregarded with impunity. On the contrary, it must 
receive its due weight and acknowledgment, or the operation 
wherein it shall not be properly heeded will end in disaster. If 
the manufacturer will not afford the painter proper and reason- 
able time wherein he may accomplish his work, he should at 
least have the grace to put the blame for failure where it prop- 
erly belongs, and not on the shoulders of the innocent work- 
man, or still worse, on the head of the maker of the last thin 
coat of color. We believe the case of the captive children of 
Israel has its parallel in the carriage trade ; and that the latter 
is oftentimes required to perform a labor more difficult of ac- 
complishment than was required of the Jewish bondsmen by 
their Egyptian task masters. To make sun-dried bricks with- 
out straw may, so far as we know, be within the limit of human 
ingenuity ; but to begin and complete the painting and varnish- 
ing of a carriage — so as to secure the best results in the way of 
durability — in the space of two weeks is a feat beyond the skill 
of any man who ever yet painted carriages on this mundane 
sphere. What the denizens of the lunar conglomeration may 
be equal to in this line, we shall know one of these days — 
perhaps ! 

Again, the painter or workman is too often required to do 
in a given time what cannot be properly accomplished within 



36 

the specified .limits. Take, for example, that most important 
work of properly filling up a carriage part — keeping the cor- 
ners clean, and smoothing up every part as it should be. Let 
us anticipate the consequences in a case where the painter is 
required to do this job in about one quarter of the time which 
should properly be devoted to the same. In the very best 
aspect of the case, there must, of necessity, be masses of thick 
paint left in the corners, around clips, between the leaves of the 
springs and at the end of every spoke, which should not, with 
a view to a durable job, have been left to repose there. No 
amount of time given this work to dry, no care in the details of 
finishing, ornamenting, or varnishing, will prevent these masses 
of dried putty, as it were, from becoming disengaged from their 
resting places and dropping off when this carriage is subjected 
to the jolting and consequent vibration caused by rolling the 
wheels over stone-paved streets. 



CHAPTER XL 

The next most common and vexatious trouble with the paint- 
ing, is the flaking or cleaving of varnish from the color. This 
is no new thing, but has existed, we suppose, since the invention 
of the art of varnish making. Some of the causes of this annoy- 



ing accident may be enumerated here — we do "not pretend to 
give them all — as follows : Cotton seed oil in the color, however 
small the quantity, is a prolific source of evil in the way of caus- 
ing the varnish to flake. Japan, made from inferior shellac, 
mixed with other and cheaper gums. Color mixed with japan, 
varnish and oil, when the due proportion of each is not properly 
attended to. Varnishing over a glassy surface. Fatty sub- 
stances, whether turpentine, oil or paint. Certain rubbing var- 
nishes unskilfully or carelessly made, or made from unsuitable 
materials, will cause this trouble. These are among the sources 
of this evil. No doubt there are others ! A word of caution to 
painters just now may be pertinent. If you do use oil or var- 
nish in our colors — or even in those ground in the shop — bear 
in mind the fact that the latter must in all cases be superior in 
quantity to the oil. No doubt, trouble in many paint shops has 
resulted because the painter has never fully appreciated the fact 
that varnish, oil, shellac, japan and turpentine may be so mixed 
as to give a surface which no rubbing varnish will adhere to. 
Really, too much caution cannot be exercised in putting these 
thinners together. There is nothing so good for a "binder" as 
pure, unboiled linseed oil ; because, it rarely ever gives trouble 
if used only in proper quantity and proportion. 

A glassy surface must not be varnished, but must be reduced 
to a '' scratch coat," by the application of pumice stone and 
water. 

The use of two driers in the same color is deprecated, unless 
the user shall know, with a knowledge gained by abundant expe- 
rience, just what the effect of such mixing will be ; and whether 
or not these driers will work well together. 



38 

Colors must never be finished with a japan gloss. 

All paints, oils, driers and turpentine should be kept, as far 
as possible, in air tight vessels. Color cups must be kept cov- 
ered, to exclude dust and air. 

Every foreman in a carriage paint shop should mix all the col- 
ors, supposing he has time so to do. If not, he should intrust 
this most important operation to some one experienced hand, and 
not to any man or boy he may have under his charge. By strict 
attention to these little details, many of the troubles of the paint 
shop, as pitting of varnish, cracking, flaking, or premature per- 
ishing of the whole, may be avoided. 

Now we come to a point in this question, wherefrom we pro- 
pose to discuss the comparative merits of our ground colors 
with those as before produced in the carriage paint shop. Our 
claims are many, large, abounding and conclusive. First, we 
claim that our colors are economical to the last degree ; that to 
use them costs nothing, for the reason that the labor of produc- 
ing their equivalent in the paint shop would be more than we 
ask for the ready prepared colors. They are permanent beyond 
anything ever displayed ; and uniform to a degree that the 
painter need have no fear of not being able to duplicate any job 
he may have before turned out. 

We claim that, since the introduction of our prepared colors, 
the waste in the paint shop is one third less than before ; that 
the labor and waste in grinding colors in the paint shop 
exceeds the prime cost of the goods we offer ; also, that there is 
a saving in varnish, as no extra quantity need be applied 
to cover up a sanded surface. We claim that the labor of paint- 
■ ing a carriage is much lessened by the use of our colors, and 



39 

that the labor and time saved by the use of our ready made 
colors in painting a carriage will be more than the cost of the 
paint consumed in the job. This is a feature to which we 
would call the special attention of the manufacturer, because of 
the fact, that while the outlay of money for materials is some- 
thing tangible and always patent, the expenditure for labor is in 
a measure intangible — less observable, and much more diffi- 
cult to measure, and weigh and count. There is, too, what 
we chose to designate as a false economy; a "penny wise" 
policy, exhibited too frequently by purchasers of colors which 
in other departments would be looked upon as extreme folly 
and stupidity. We allude to the common practice of procur- 
ing paints similar in name to those which the purchaser has 
been using, simply because the said paints are offered at a nom- 
inally lower price. In too many cases the consumer does not 
take the trouble to learn by experimental test, whether the 
nominally cheaper colors are worth as much or half, or only a 
quarter as much as those he has been using ; but rushes to the 
conclusion that being cheaper in ?iame, they must of course be 
cheaper in fact. There is, too, in this, a peculiar absurdity 
from the fact that the cost of the color actually consumed on 
the finish coat of any light carriage is very trifling, and that 
which works best and covers the undercoat most completely, 
everything else being equal, is the cheapest at whatever rea- 
sonable price, because of the consequent saving of material 
and labor. Any sane person in the trade will admit that a 
painter would not necessarily have made a good bargain sim- 
ply because he had bought a hundred pounds of so-called 
coach black at ten cents a pound. The chaffering for a few 



4° 

cents a pound difference, between an article which has been 
tried and never found wanting, and one which has never been 
tested, is, we think, not the right road to true economy. 
For example : supposing you have been using our black, and 
have found it to be uniformly fine, of good body — always 
working and covering well, and drying invariably so as to 
take varnish in the number of hours allotted to it. In the 
strife and competition for trade, some would-be rival or com- 
petitor offers you a paint in substitution of this well proved 
article — bearing the same name, at a price ten cents a pound 
less then you paid for the former color. Of course, in using 
this you are trying an experiment to your own cost if it fail, 
and with a gain so small in case of success, that there is 
nothing in the best aspect of the case to pay for the risk. 
One pound of our black will coat two light carriage parts. 
Admitting that the ten cents a pound is an important item, 
there yet remains the fact that the greatest possible accom- 
plishments in the way of saving would be five cents in the 
painting of a four hundred dollar job ; while, at the same time, 
the experiment may involve a loss of twenty or thirty dol- 
lars, and possibly two or three days' delay. Again, there is 
another most important feature involved, viz. : the question of 
permanence — of durability. This can be tested only by time ; 
and years must necessarily elapse before this question can be 
settled. Our colors, and only ours, have been subjected to 
this test, and have always proved superior in this respect to 
any colors ever before used in carriage painting. We would 
not convey the idea that the practice of such false economy 
is common in the trade; indeed, such practice is the excep- 



41 



tion, and not the rule ; but there are, and always will be in 
every calling, short-sighted individuals, who take the name for 
the thing — the word for the fact. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Having detailed somewhat this question of superiority, we 
take it for granted that all will admit the correctness of our 
premises and our conclusions ; as also, the fact that we have 
accomplished much in the way of lifting the business of car- 
riage painting out of the slough of despond — so to speak — in 
which we found it, and that we have quite overcome the most 
formidable of the difficulties before existing in the carriage 
paint shop. All this has not been done without a vast expendi- 
ture of time, talent, energy, experience and money. Machinery 
best adapted to bring about the desired result has been con- 
structed without regard to cost, and vexation and disappoint- 
ment were in many instances the only fruits of costly and 
laborious experiments. But, labor omnia vi/icit ! and satis- 
factory success came as a crown to our worthy efforts. To-day 
our colors are the only ones for which there is a general de- 
mand. This demand is certainly and steadily extending, and in 
a few years will include all places where, in the civilized world. 



42 

carriages are made and painted. Admitting all these claims, 
the next question in importance to the trade is how, in what way, 
by what mode of proceeding, can the best results be realized in 
the use of our standard colors. 

Listen while we review the subject in the light of ten years' 
every day experience, and set forth what we have found to be 
the best way to do it ! Premising with the somewhat trite 
proverb that " Economy is wealth," we would impress most dis- 
tinctly the importance of not taking from the opened can of 
paint, more material than is just amply sufficient to complete 
the job in hand. This point having received due attention, 
scrape cleanly and neatly the color from the sides of the can, 
level the top of the remaining mass evenly, and pour thereon 
turpentine sufficient to quite submerge the whole ; then cover 
all with the top of the can and put away carefully for future 
use. We refer now, of course, to the ordinary can. With the 
patent press can, the contents will, as it were, take care of them- 
selves. We take it for granted the mixing cup was scrupulously 
clean to begin with ! In thinning, first add a small quantity of 
turpentine and stir, till the whole mass becomes smooth, homo- 
geneous. Do not add the turpentine all at once. First stir the 
color well before adding any ; then pour it in, little by little, 
stirring all the time, until the contents of the cup shall present a 
smooth, even mass, giving it the appearance of a perfect solu- 
tion. The color now under consideration is supposed to be 
black. In its present state it is a quick drying substance, and if 
the exigencies of the case required, could be used so as to dry 
ready for varnish in less than an hour of time. This same 
mixture, if put over a ground not thoroughly hard and dry. 



43 

would crack all to pieces. To escape this dilemma, supposing 
the workman is required to finish quickly over a soft under- 
neath, we would suggest adding to the color a quantity of elastic 
rubbing varnish, so that the coat would dry — not hard, but, in a 
measure, yielding. The present case, however, supposes ample 
time and no extraordinary haste, and that the mode of opera- 
tion is to apply one coat of color only on a single day — which 
is, in our judgment, the right course ; in such case, leave out 
a portion of the turpentine and add in lieu thereof a small 
quantity of pure raw linseed oil. As before said, our black, 
thinned wholly with turpentine, will dry ready for varnish in an 
hour's time or less, and this coat may be varnished over in that 
short time with safety, supposing the ground to be perfectly 
hard, but not otherwise. Yet we claim that for many reasons it 
will always be better to leave the job unvarnished overnight. 
Black, if varnished too quickly, will not give the same shade 
and density of color as when allowed ample time to dry, and we 
are certain that complaints have come to us setting forth that 
our blacks are not as good as formerly ; the only foundation for 
which has been the mistake of varnishing over the color before 
it had time properly to dry. Any doubts existing as to the 
correctness of this theory may be removed by the following 
described proceedings : Let the painter take an old spoke, paint 
it black and leave it to dry overnight. Next morning let him 
draw a broad line through the centre of said spoke, using the 
same color as in the first coat, and in an hour after putting on 
the stripe let him varnish over all. This coat of varnish will 
reveal the fact, that the stripe is not so black as the body of the 
spoke by ten shades. This is one good reason why a black 



44 

coating of color should be left overnight before varnishing. 
Another reason for such a course is, that long experience has 
taught us that no painter, however skilful, can perform a per- 
fectly satisfactory job in coach painting who does not give each 
and every coat of paint and varnish time to become dry and 
hard all the way through. In our judgment, ninety per cent, of 
all the carriage painting done in the United States is done too 
quickly ; yet, we admit that some of the best jobs — to look 
at — have been done in this manner. Such work, however, when 
put to the test of actual use, does not endure as does work 
where time has been duly given to all the processes. 

Referring again to the discoloration of black because of 
being varnished over too quickly, and the occasional complaints 
coming to us because of this, we have to request that each and 
every painter among our readers shall investigate this question 
for himself and his own convincing. 

We do not propose to consider each and every of our fifty or 
more coach painters' colors in detail. What has been said re- 
specting the use of black will apply in a general way to all the 
body colors. 

It is, no doubt, true that most of the foremen painters in the 
carriage shops throughout the country have, by use and experi- 
ence, familiarized themselves with the colors to such an extent, 
that they require no advice or direction in the matter. Yet, 
there are doubtless many in the trade who would gladly receive 
instruction as to the way of working lakes and carmines, in 
order to produce the best results with the least expenditure of 
labor and material. 

In all operations, a good deal depends on getting a fair start. 



45 

Therefore, we would have all learners lay to heart this impor- 
tant truth : in all lake or carmine jobs, let the ground be as 
close ati imitation in totie of color to the glazing as possible. This 
we believe to be the proper starting point, although we are con- 
scious of the fact that we are not in this particular in full agree- 
ment with every member of the trade. To those, however, who 
take exception to this, our position, we would put a query : 
Would you attempt to produce a good job in carmine by glaz- 
ing over a black ground ? We anticipate to this question an 
answer unmistakably negative. If, then, to produce a good 
job in carmine, which is not only the brightest in color, but the 
most transparent of all the lakes — requires a rich ground in 
correspondence with itself — can there be any reason why the 
same rule does not hold good with all glazing colors ? 

Supposing, then, the adoption of this principle, and the work 
prepared in accordance thereto — the next important question is 
the preparation of the color. It is taken for granted that the 
cup is clean, and that only enough color has been taken from 
the can to finish the work. To this must be added a very small 
c^uantity of pure spirits of turpentine, which must be well 
stirred in and thoroughly incorporated with the color. This 
must be repeated until the color in the cup is well broken up, 
smooth in the mass, and entirely homogeneous. Then add as 
much raw linseed oil as the color will bear, and yet dry ready 
for varnish by standing overnight. After the oil, add turpen- 
tine to thin to proper working consistency. It must work free- 
ly and flow perfectly. Nothing can be gained — but much may 
be lost — by working the color too thick. If the foregoing direc- 
tions be followed, and the color be applied with a flat camel- 



46 

hair brush, by a good workman, there need be no fear as to the 
result. One coat of color and one of color in varnish upon a 
carriage part will be enough ; but this will not be sufficient for 
panels. Another mode of operation in transparent painting is 
to put the color in varnish and flow on over the ground. This 
is, perhaps, the best mode in painting bodies, as a little color can 
be put in each succeeding coat of varnish until the last, which, 
of course, must be clear. This will give the best possible tint 
or color and will prove a lasting job. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The money value of paint wasted in this country is enormous 
— greater, perhaps, than in all the world beside. Our reckless 
prodigality, in a certain way, is only equalled by our absurd at- 
tempts at economy. For example : A painter will sometimes 
spend the time and exertion necessary to walk a mile, all for the 
purpose of purchasing a can of paint a shilling less than he can 
buy it for under his very nose, and then neglect the proper pre- 
caution and preventive to waste, by omitting to cover up and 
take care of whatever paint may be remaining after the job is 
finished. Now, a quarter part of the time and labor necessarily 
expended in saving the shilling, devoted to care and cleanli- 



47 

ness, would have resulted in the saving of twice that amount. 
Another absurdity ! a slavish devotion to names. When will 
men learn that two things are not necessarily the same, because 
they may be called by similar names ? Take, for example, the 
greens used in carriage painting. These are either chrome or 
copper greens, and are briefly described in the foregoing pages. 
The body greens are chrome colors and the diaphanous greens 
are copper colors, as a rule. Chrome green, when pure, is of a 
dense body (almost, in this respect, rivalling lampblack), and 
covers and conceals all it touches, whether white or black. A 
fair selling price of this pure green, dry, would be about eighty 
cents per pound to consumers, and at this price it would be the 
cheapest green obtainable. Yet the probabilities are that a 
pound of this color, under its own proper name, cannot be 
found in any carriage shop in the United States. What, then, 
do we buy ? Listen ! The so-called " chrome green " of com- 
merce is simply silica, sulphate of baryta, or carbonate of lime, 
colored with chrome green, in proportions varying from (the 
best), say, one pound of color to five pounds of the base, to 
one pound of color and two hundred pounds of the base ; 
and all is sold as chrome green. Now, this earthy base, which 
is transparent when mixed in oils, adds to the value of paint 
in the same manner and degree as watering milk, sanding 
sugar, or mixing shoddy with wool in the production of cloth 
adds to the value of these articles respectively. What the painter 
requires is color, not sand ! And considering that he has to 
pay vastly more for the color he buys when mixed with the 
sand, it would seem not to require a very elaborate argument to 
convince the dullest comprehension that for the consumer pure 



48 

colors are the cheapest. Some idea of the coloring property or 
power of real chrome green may be had, by reflecting on the fact 
that a single pound of it will impart its tone of color to a hun- 
dred pounds of a glassy translucent substance, causing it " in 
the mass " to resemble the pure green itself. I say " in the 
mass," for when this pretended green paint is spread upon a 
piece of glass, and viewed through a microscope or magnifying 
glass, it presents the appearance of vitreous minute grains, with 
a speck of color here and there, like small sea-birds scattered 
along a sandy beach. That a painter had better buy the color 
unmixed with the sand would seem a self evident proposition. 

Dropping casually into a carriage paint shop, not long ago, we 
espied a can, with our label on it, signifying that it (the can) 
did contain, or had contained, ivory black in japan. It was un- 
covered and exposed to the dust, dirt and drying influences of 
a warm atmosphere. We looked into it, and found it contained 
about two thirds of its original contents ; but of its original 
value not a fifteenth part was there. One after another of the 
hands, in want of a little black, had dipped into it with palette 
knife, and the deep pits or holes were left, unfilled, to dry 
around the sides, and thus waste the material in the speediest 
possible manner. We asked the foreman how he was suited 
with our goods. " Oh ! " said he, " the black is first rate, but it 
dries up so!"" We thought, if it did not dry under such treat- 
ment, as that, it would well deserve any amount of maledictions. 

The utmost care and attention, and the most scrupulous 
cleanliness are indispensable to economy and good results in the 
carriage paint shop. 



49 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Addressing the carriage builders and railway interests of the 
United States, we would respectfully call attention to the fol- 
lowing statements, facts and assumptions, which will be found 
set forth with whatever of conciseness or brevity would seem 
consistent with the importance of the subject. 

We need hardly allude to the fact, that we last year built in 
Brooklyn a varnish factory, more complete in its appointments, 
more perfect in all its arrangements, and affording greater facil- 
ities for the production of first-class goods, than any ever before 
erected. 

We went into this enterprise with a determination to produce 
a better article in the way of fine coach and railway varnishes 
than had ever before been presented to the trade, and we now 
offer a full line of coach and railway varnishes, which we war- 
rant superior in every particular. 

We propose to name in detail the qualities and properties 
wherein we assume to have excelled, and afterwards to give 
what we consider good and sufficient reasons for the excellence 
of our products. 

For our WeartJig Body Varnish we claim perfect freedom 
and ease in working, a flowing property unequalled, and a bril- 
liancy never before attained. It will retain its lustre in damp 
and exposed places longer than any other, and is less liable to 
take on that bluish film when exposed to heavy and continu- 



5° 

ous rains. It will harden all through, without detracting from 
its wearing qualities ; and its durability, in comparison with 
other varnishes, we guarantee. 

Our Black Rubbing Varnish is absolute perfection in its way. 
It has all the good qualities required ; is entirely free from all 
the undesirable ones ; will stand for months without deposit- 
ing the color in the bottom of the containing package ; flows 
with a surface equal to the best clear rubbing varnish, and will 
dry in ordinary summer temperature, so as to be rubbed with 
perfect safety, in 48 hours. No black rubbing varnish ever be- 
fore produced, either in this country or abroad, will for a mo- 
ment bear comparison with the superior article which we now 
offer to the trade, and for which we ask a single trial, in the 
confidence that one experiment will convince the most incredu- 
lous reader that our commendations and assertions are modest, 
and not exaggerated. 

All the other varnishes included in our line of fine goods 
properly belong in the same category with those named above, 
for the reason that all are made from the very best materials, 
manipulated by the most experienced and skilful hands, by 
those who are wholly acquainted with the wants, needs and re- 
quirements of the carriage and railway trade, gained by many 
years of practice and familiarity with all the branches thereof ; 
and in addition to all this, the fact that no varnish is ever sent 
out to our customers which has not been thoroughly tested for 
drying qualities. These tests, let it be remembered, are made 
in rooms which are kept at a uniform temperature of 70° day 
and night. Under such conditions our varnishes may be re- 
lied upon to dry according to the time named in our descrip- 



51 

tive list. Of course, such results cannot be expected when the 
varnish shall be used in a room the temperature of which is 
allowed to fall much below 70°. 

On the theory that every man is bound to give a reason for 
the hope that is within him, we beg your attention to some facts 
which we present in support of the reasonableness of our claims. 
We began the business with all the advantages, so far as the pro- 
duction of the goods is concerned, possessed at the present mo- 
ment by those who began varnish-making twenty-five years ago 
in a shanty, with a storage capacity of two hundred gallons all 
told. The appointments of our factory are more complete 
than the best. We had, at the start, tank room equal to the 
storage of forty-four thousand gallons of varnish. W^e wished 
to insure uniformity as well as excellence in our products. Our 
means and facilities for the procuring and obtaining the best in 
the way of material were unexcelled. We felt ourselves war- 
ranted in making these large and extraordinary expenditures, 
for the reason that our acquaintance with the trade would seem 
to insure to us a paying business from the beginning. 

We have in Brooklyn, within ten minutes' walk of Fulton 
Ferry, twelve city lots covered with costly factory buildings 
and storehouses, which, with the best machinery and an expe- 
rience in the paint business of nearly fifty years, give us facil- 
ities in the production of fine goods such as exist nowhere out- 
side of us. 

The attention of railway officials, such as Purchasing Agents, 
Master Car Builders and Master Painters, is most respectfully 
asked to what follows. 

For some years we have furnished many of the largest rail- 



52 

road companies with special car body colors, and by permission 
we refer to the following companies, for whom we have made 
such goods : 

PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY, Enoch Lewis, Purchas- 
ing Agent, Philadelphia, Pa. 

PENNSYLVANIA COMPANY, Wm. Mullins, General Purchasing 
Agent, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD COMPANY, N. S. Hill, Pur- 
chasing Agent, Baltimore, Md. 

CHICAGO & ALTON RAILROAD COMPANY, A. V. Hartwell, 
Purchasing Agent, Chicago, 111. 

CHICAGO & NORTHWESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY, R. W. 
Hamer, Purchasing Agent, Chicago, 111. 

LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD COMPANY, L. Chamberlin, Pur- 
chasing Agent, Philadelphia, Pa. 

NORTHERN RAILROAD OF CANADA, F. W. Cumberland, Su- 
perintendent, Toronto, Ont. 

NAUGATUCK RAILROAD COMPANY, G. W. Beach, Superintendent, 
Waterbury, Ct. 

PHILADELPHIA, WILMINGTON & BALTIMORE RAILROAD 
COMPANY, S. A. Hodgman, Superintendent of Motive Power, Wil- 
mington, Del. 

NEW YORK, NEW HAVEN & HARTFORD RAILROAD COM- 
PANY, R. N. DowD, Commissary, New Haven, Ct. 

UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY, ^ A. D. Clark, Purchasing 

KANSAS " " " ) Agent, Omaha, Neb. 

CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY RAILROAD COMPANY, 
Wm. Irving, Purchasing Agent, Chicago, 111. 

LOUISVILLE, CINCINNATI & LEXINGTON RAILROAD COM- 
PANY, Wm. Mahl, Purchasing Agent, Louisville, Ky. 

GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY, N. Wall, Port Huron, Mich. 



53 

LITTLE ROCK & FORT SMITH RAILROAD COMPANY, T. Hart- 
man, Purchasing Agent, Little Rock, Ark. 

ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAILROAD COMPANY, F. 
M. Smith, Purchasing Agent, Topeka, Kan. 

EVANSVILLE & TERRE HAUTE RAILROAD COMPANY, John 
L. White, Purchasing Agent, Evansville, Indiana. 

ST. LOUIS, VANDALIA & TERRE HAUTE RAILROAD COM- 
PANY, C. R. Peddle, Purchasing Agent, Terre Haute, Ind. 

TERRE HAUTE & INDIANAPOLIS RAILROAD COMPANY, C. R. 
Peddle, Purchasing Agent, Terre Haute, Ind. 

BOSTON & ALBANY RAILROAD COMPANY, C. O. Russell, Pur- 
chasing Agent, Springfield, Mass. 

GILBERT & BUSH COMPANY, Troy, N. Y., Raihoad Car Builders. 

WASSON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Brightwood, Mass., Rail- 
road Car Builders. 

BILLMEYER & SMALL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, York, Pa., 
Railroad Car Builders. 

JACKSON & SHARP COMPANY, Wilmington, Del., Railroad Car 
Builders. 

BARNEY & SMITH MANUFACTURING COMPANY, Dayton, Ohio, 
Railroad Car Builders. 

The advantages derived from the use of such special colors 
are many, a few of which are found below : 

Absolute U7iifor?nity of shade. 

DurabiUf)\ as we use perfectly pure materials. 

Saving of money, because of small quantity required. 

Saving of time, in the putting on of the same. 

Saving of labor and material, 7;l% no extra amount of. varnish 
will be required to hide a sanded surface. 

Larger degree of certainty that there will be an absence of 



54 

cracked work, as our mixtures are all uniform, being done by 
weight only. 

We make any desired shade, it only being necessary that pur- 
chasers furnish us with sample of color desired, stating the time 
they would like to have the paint dry in. 

We shall be glad to furnish samples and give prices to any 
who may wish to avail themselves of the foregoing advantages. 

Very Respectfully, 

JOHN W. MASURY & SON. 



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